MD Flunks Pres. Obama's Race to the Top

There is an unusual twist to the competition for federal education dollars under President Obama's "Race to the Top" funding program. While Democrats in Annapolis like to crow about Maryland's #1 ranking by Education Week magazine, a different evaluation emerges when the state education system is judged by the standards established under the Obama Administration.

How ironic that Maryland's one-party monopoly failed miserably in the first round of the federal competition administered by a Democrat presidential administration.

The problem is - in Maryland, education policy is not about the children.  Instead, it is all about the teacher's union and their stranglehold over Democrat legislators in the General Assembly.

The Obama administration is modeling the future of 21st century education on programs that work in Chicago and other innovative systems across the nation. Public school systems that promote charter schools and reward successful teachers with "pay for performance" are making great strides in American's urban centers. These systems also defer tenure for teachers so that the motivation exists for continued teacher improvement early in one's career.

Unfortunately, legislators in Annapolis at the direction of union leaders have rejected these reforms in Maryland. When Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., proposed model legislation for charter schools during his administration, the bill was stripped down to a bare framework that required union control of teachers in any charter school in Maryland.

How ironic that Maryland's application today for highly-sought dollars from the Obama Adminstration would have been enhanced by passage of the charter schools bill championed by Governor Ehrlich!

For a view on Maryland's detour in the "Race to the Top," check out this editorial in the Washington Post (click here).